Decorative tree



Sept. 8, 1953 c. STRATMANN, JR

DECORATIVE TREE Filed Aug. 15, 1950 Fig.

Louis 6'. Sim/moan, Jn'

INVENTOR.

Patented Sept. 8, 1953 v UNITED sTATss rATsNT OFFICE 2,651,130 osooRA'rIvE TREE, Ilouis C. Stratma'nn, .lrJ, New Orleans, La. Application August 15, 1950, Serial N 0. 179,601 2 Claims. (01. 41-15) This invention relates decorative articles.

An object of this invention is to provide an ornamental artificial tree adapted to be used whenever found desirable, asduring the Christmas season, Easter time and for other occasions, the tree being made of a single piece of bendable material in sheet form and stamped or otherwise cut in order to provide a base with a trunk rising therefrom, the trunk being arranged with a longitudinal crease therein for rigidity of construction and the trunk having laterally projecting branches or arms extending therefrom which may be easily bent and twisted to the desired shapes.

Ancillary objects and features of importance will become apparent in following the description of the illustrated form of the invention.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device;

Figure 2 is a plan View of the blank from which the device was made;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a part of one of the branches, and;

Figure 4 is fragmentary sectional View which is presented to show that the trunk has a longitudinal indentation therein for strength of construction.

Briefly summarized, one phase of the invention has to do with the finished or ready-to-use ornamental tree in Fig. 1 and the other phase has to do with what is considered to be a novel new article of manufacture; namely, a blank of malleable metal stamped out from a larger sheet and comprising a flat discoidal portion adapted to serve as a self-standing base, a larger trapezoidal portion integrated with said discoidal portion by Way of a of predetermined delineation, the lengthwise median portion of said trapezoidal portion being imperforate and indented from end to end by a linearly straight indentation, the remainder of said trapezoidal portion being formed with spaced parallel slits defining tines which are susceptible of being transformed into deformable limbs, the outer ends of said tines being obliquely cut to define sharp-pointed impaling prongs.

In carrying out this invention there is provided a blank generally indicated as Ill which is made of a single piece construction. Many materials to improvements in complemental struck-out tongue The blank is cut, as by stamping so that a base I0 is formed with a slot l2 therein, part of the material I 4 from which the slot was made being slightly bowed at its sides and forming the lower part of the trunk section or trunk 56 of the tree.

This trunk has a longitudinal crease l8 formed therein for rigidity of construction and has a plurality of laterally extending branches as integral form a means of supporting various confections 24 which may be marshmallows, Christmas candies, fruit or others.

In practice the blank an is formed, as by a single stamping operation. Then the trunk it is bent upwardly at the fold line 26 in the base Ill. The trunk is then in a vertical position, while the base I0 is horizontal for disposition on any support, as a table. Each of the branches are then bent and twisted as at 28 (Figure 3) in order to form the branches 20. The actual bending is left within the prerogative of the user, depending upon the location at which the tree is to be dis- F sary only to again fold the base In with respect to the trunk IE on the fold line 26 and flatten the branches 20 slightly so that they assume a general, but not completely, planar configuration.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new 1s:

1. A knockdown ornamental tree for festive occasions adapted to be manufactured and sold wholly in flat ready-to-use form comprising a flat circular self-standing base, a trunk havin an enlarged basal portion being of a readily deformable shape-sustaining malleable material which is manually bendable, whereby said limbs may be transformed from fiat form 3 to variegated decorative forms representing branches, said basal portion of said trunk being a complement of and struck out from said base and also bent up from said base.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a blank of malleable metal stamped out from a larger sheet and comprising a fiat discoidal portion adapted to serve as a self-standing base, a larger trapezoidal portion integrated with said discoidal portion by way of a complemental struck-out tongue of predetermined delineation, said trapezoidal portion being coplanar with said discoidal portion, the lengthwise median portion of said trapezoidal portion being imperforate and indented from end to end by a linearly straight indentation, the remainder of said trapezoidal portion being formed with spaced parallel slits defining tines which are susceptible of being transformed into deformable limbs, the outer ends of said tines 5 being obliquely out to define sharp-pointed impaling prongs.

LOUIS C. STRATMANN, JR.

10 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

